The present invention relates to an electrostatic image recording apparatus of the image transfer type and, more particularly, to a record head cleaning device for use in such an image recording apparatus.
In a prior art transfer type electrostatic image recording apparatus, a recording medium takes the form of an endless belt which comprises a dielectric layer, a conductive layer and a base layer. The belt is fed in the subscan direction while being charged uniformly throughout its surface. A record head having an array of styluses arranged in the main scan direction to cover one line is supplied with a voltage representing digital image data, thereby dissipating or reducing the charge on the belt surface. The resulting latent image on the belt is developed by a toner and then transferred to an ordinary sheet of paper. The toner image on the paper sheet is fixed permanently thereon at a fixing station. In this type of recording apparatus, the surface of the belt is usually cleaned after the image transfer to become reusable for another recording cycle.
In practice, however, it is impossible to perfectly remove toner particles remaining on the belt after the transfer by means of a cleaner. The residual toner particles tend to accumulate on the operating surface of the record head to thereby impair the discharging characteristic of the styluses. This will result in poor quality of reproduced images or smearing in background areas.